Foster girls transform into princesses for the day: 'They grinned ear to ear'

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EUGENE, Ore. -- The drizzle outside the Valley River Center on Sunday didn’t dampen the spirits of the almost 300 girls who were transformed into princesses.

The non-profit group A Family For Every Child hosted their 6th annual Princess For A Day event on Sunday, giving hundreds of children a day full of royal treatment.

A Family For Every Child, which helps to find loving homes for children, said about 75 percent of those princesses are in the foster care system.

Foster mother Dianna Hartley traveled from Klamath Falls so her two foster girls could be pampered like princesses.

“This was a girls weekend, so we left all the boys and husbands home,” said Hartley.

Girls got their hair and make up done, wore princess dresses, tiaras and danced the day away.

It's an experience Diana hopes her daughters will never forget.

“When they first got in this room they grinned ear to ear,” said Hartley.

Organizer Linzy Munger said the group of hard-working volunteers that helped coordinate the big day found it worth the effort.

“We’ve heard stories of girls who sleep in their princess dresses after the event, girls who wear their tiaras to school Monday morning. The girls get such a boost of excitement and self esteem and really get to feel like a princess,” said Munger.